Overview
- USS Santa Barbara conducted the Dec. 16 launch in the Arabian Gulf, marking the first shipborne employment of a one-way attack drone, according to NAVCENT.
- Task Force 59 executed the operation with a LUCAS assigned to CENTCOM’s Task Force Scorpion Strike, the newly deployed squadron focused on fielding these systems.
- The Defense Department said LUCAS can be deployed from decks and austere sites without permanent vertical launch systems, enabling use across more ship classes.
- Officials cited extensive range and multiple launch modes, and reporting identifies the SpektreWorks-built design as outwardly similar to Iranian Shahed-style loitering munitions.
- NAVCENT did not disclose whether a live payload was used, as the Pentagon advances a two-year, $1 billion rapid procurement push that begins vendor trials in February.